A round-up of other world news in brief
US and Russia fail to agree nuclear deal
COPENHAGEN – US president Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev failed to clinch a landmark pact cutting cold- war stocks of nuclear arms yesterday but pledged to keep working for a deal in the new year.
Mr Obama told reporters after meeting Mr Medvedev that Washington and Moscow were “quite close” to agreement but a senior Kremlin official later said talks would continue in January after a Christmas break.
Neither side disclosed details of why the talks on a successor to the 1991 Start I pact had missed a December 5th deadline and have still not produced a result, even after the two leaders met in Copenhagen. – (Reuters)
Search for survivors after ship sinks
TRIPOLI – UN peacekeepers’ vessels and Lebanese navy boats searched yesterday for survivors from a cargo ship carrying more than 80 people and livestock that sank in the Mediterranean off Lebanon.
Lebanese sources said 39 sailors had been rescued and nine bodies recovered since the Panamanian-flagged Danny FII capsized in stormy weather on Thursday.
Three UN vessels, Lebanese army boats and British military helicopters were involved in the rescue efforts. Security sources said survival chances were looking increasingly dim for the remaining 35 sailors. – (Reuters)
Autism affects 1 in 110 US 8-year-olds
WASHINGTON – Autism, a brain disorder that interferes with communication and social skills, affected an estimated one in 110 American eight-year-olds in 2006, according to a federal study released yesterday.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention found that autism cases were four to five times higher among boys than girls, with one in 70 boys and one in 315 girls identified.
This is far higher than previous estimates that the incurable family of conditions affected one in 150 US children. A few decades ago autism was thought to be rare. – (Reuters)